Press Releases

(DETROIT) – House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-M14) will host a Democratic Judiciary forum concerning the legal implications of the Emergency Manager Law.  The forum will start at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February, 21, 2012 and will be held at Soul Harvest Ministries in Highland Park.

Currently, there are six emergency managers appointed under the Michigan Emergency Law (Benton Harbor, Ecorse, Flint, Pontiac, Detroit Public Schools, Highland Park School District) and a review for an appointment is ongoing with respect to the cities of Detroit, Inkster, and Muskegon Heights.  Several lawsuits have been brought challenging the law and its implementation, and a petition drive is pending which would suspend the law subject to a statewide referendum in November.  At the same time, other states such as Indiana are considering adopting emergency manager laws similar to Michigan’s statute. This forum will consider a range of issues, including the EM law’s possible impact on voting rights, representative form of government, collective bargaining rights; the legality and appropriateness of effort in Lansing to reinstate the law notwithstanding the referendum process; the law’s consistence with the Open Meetings Act, and the state’s compliance with its revenue sharing obligations.  Witnesses will include the Emergency Manager for Benton Harbor, preeminent constitutional, voting rights, and bankruptcy legal experts as well as representatives of impacted communities, safety officials, and unions.

In December, Representative Conyers wrote the U.S. Department of Justice to ask the attorney general to review the law’s constitutionality.  That same month, Representative Conyers along with Representatives Clarke and Peters, 55 state legislators (9 sState Senators and 46 state Representatives) and 8 Detroit City Council members, wrote a letter requesting a meeting with Governor Snyder to discuss the Emergency Manager Law.

WHAT:

Forum to Discuss the Legal Implications of Michigan’s Emergency Manager Law

 

WHERE:

Soul Harvest Ministries
16300 Woodward Avenue
Highland Park, MI, 48288

 

WHEN:

Tuesday, February 21, 2012.
5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

 

WHO:

Participants

 

The Honorable John Conyers, Jr.

Michigan’s 14^th Congressional District and Ranking Member House Judiciary Committee

 

The Honorable Hansen Clarke

Michigan’s 13^th Congressional District

 

The Honorable Gary Peters

Michigan’s 9^th Congressional District

 

The Honorable Bert Johnson

Michigan’s 2^nd Senate District

 

The Honorable John Olumba

Michigan’s 5^th House District

 

The Honorable JoAnn Watson

Detroit City Council

 

Panelists/Witnesses

 

Joseph Harris

Emergency Manager, Benton Harbor

 

Rev. David Alexander Bullock

Rainbow PUSH Coalition Detroit

 

Professor Kenneth N. Klee

UCLA School of Law

 

James E. Spiotto, Esq.

Chapman & Cutter, LLP

 

Professor Jocelyn F. Benson

Wayne State University Law School

 

Hon. Fred Durhal, Jr.

Michigan’s 6^th House District and Chairperson Michigan Legislative Black Caucus

 

Hon. Thomas F. Stallworth, III

Michigan’s 8^th House District

 

Hon.  DeAndre Windom

Mayor, Highland Park, Michigan

 

Hon. Lee A. Jones

President, Pontiac City Council

 

Hon. Kermit Williams

Pontiac City Council

 

Hon. Marcus Mohammed

Benton Harbor City Commissioner

 

Al Garrett

President, Council 25, AFSCME

 

Chris Michalakis

Secretary-Treasurer, Metropolitan Detroit AFL-CIO

 

Keith R. Johnson

President, Detroit Federation of Teachers

 

Kenneth A. Cole

Detroit Representative to Michigan State Government

 

Brandon A. Jessup

Chairman and CEO, Michigan Forward

 

John C. Philo

Legal Director, Sugar Law Center